The claim to fame for this latest Phillips brew was that all ingredients were obtained within 24 miles of the brewery. The barley malt was grown and malted locally and the hops came from Saanich. This may not seem like much, but it actually is quite a big deal. The carbon footprint of beer (and wine) is not really that big. It is something special when a company can make it even smaller.
Taste +3
I was surprised how mild the brew smelled. The nose was very lager like: pale, grassy, lettuce with a slight acidic blueberry waft. This 'Pail' ale was the colour of a faded purple stuffed animal with little head retention. Sipping this beer also gave no surprises. There was pale grasses, mild nuts (pecans), and lettuce with a tart astringency similar to that found in dried blueberries. The medium mouthfeel was surprisingly carbonated and effervescent. Overall a very refreshing beer; almost ciderlike in sweetness. The blueberries were there, but they were not a dominating flavour.
Aftertaste +1
The slight berry astringency faded along with the floral and lightly spicy hop ending.
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
This was not a beer I would buy again, but I really liked it for a few reasons. Firstly it is very tasty and unique. The second is that it shows initiative. I love the idea that all of the ingredients for this beer were grown right here in the Greater Victoria area. It makes the carbon footprint for this beer comparatively small. Very few brewers are using local ingredients; to my knowledge only Rogue Ales is making a local ingredient beer.
Ingame Enhancement +1
I biked home carrying this beer; so my carbon footprint got even smaller.
Overall 6/10
This is a great beer, not only for flavour but for the planet. The floral, pale ale was greatly enhanced by the local tart blueberries. Well done.
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